Vicki Bowman: Myanmar military junta sentences former British ambassador to one year in prison

Authorities detained Bauman and her husband Htin Lin, a Myanmar national, last month.

Hittin Lin is a prominent artist and former political prisoner who spent six and a half years behind bars for his role in the student-led uprisings against the old military junta in 1998. He was released in 2004.

A British Foreign Office spokesman told CNN that the government “will continue to support Ms Bowman and her family until their case is resolved”.

Ming Yu-Ha, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for East and Southeast Asia campaigns, denounced the news in a statement, calling the ruling “extremely concerning”.

“The latest reports on the conviction of the former British ambassador and her Burmese artist husband are deeply disturbing. The Myanmar military has a track record of arresting and imprisoning people on politically motivated or trumped-up charges,” said Yeo Hah.

Meanwhile, Friday’s ruling against Suu Kyi is the latest in a series of penalties imposed on the 77-year-old and means she now faces 20 years in prison.

However, this is the first time that Suu Kyi – the leader of the opposition to decades of military rule in the country – has been sentenced to hard labor since the coup last year.

Friday’s trial concerns the November 2020 general election in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) overwhelmingly won, defeating a party created by the military. Three months after that election, the military seized power to prevent the Suu Kyi Party from forming a government, alleging electoral fraud.

Suu Kyi and her party denied the allegations and said they won the election fairly.